Patrick Leong

11

This is the first part of a two-part article about photography on a thirty day cruise, & related photo gear considerations as well as image capture experiences. Not quite two months ago, while checking email on my computer, I received an incredible offer from our travel agent to take a last minute cruise from San Diego to Hawaii & then to seven islands in French Polynesia. Places with far away names like Bora Bora, Raiatea, Tahiti, Moorea, Rangiroa & Nuku Hiva conjured up images for me that are a photographer’s dream come true. So my wife & I jumped at this opportunity. This led to my next question of whether to take the most basic photo gear or a more capable but also more complex setup. In my case, the former would be my Fuji X-E2 with its outstanding XF18-55mm zoom lens; the latter would be a selection of some or all of my prime lenses for this camera, with or without the zoom. For me this is the XF-14mm, the XF-35mm, a Zeiss Planar 50mm, & finally a Leica Tele-Elmarit 90mm. I provided a prior write up on this blog of my experiences in adapting these last two Leica M mount lenses to my Fuji X-E2 using the M adapter made by Fuji (see my two-part article on this blog titled “A Tale Of Two Lenses”)……..

Fuji X-E2

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02

This is the first part of a two-part article discussing my experience with two Leica M rangefinder type lenses that I recently acquired. In one of our many email exchanges, Patrick asked me if I would be willing to provide a guest contribution to his quite excellent blog. First let me state that he & I actually have never even met, my living about as far away from where he lives as is possible while still residing in the same country. We have, however, for quite some time now shared our mutual interest in rangefinders, including the varied lens options available. (He also has integrated some Fuji X system bodies & lenses into his work, & that is what first caught my attention.) And I should acknowledge straightaway that I possess no Leica branded cameras. Rather I have attempted to mimic the RF system using a Fuji X-E2. For lenses, I use a fairly small kit, consisting of a Fuji XF 14mm, a Fuji XF 35mm, a Zeiss 50mm Planar, & finally a Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit. With respect to these last two prime lenses (the Leica & the Zeiss), Patrick thought it might be interesting to get my views as to how they have integrated into my Fuji world. The larger Fuji universe also has excellent lens choices in these same focal lengths, had I been so inclined to use them. So initially I might mention certain of my reasons for not employing the Fuji counterparts to these two adapted primes……

Fuji X-E2

Do you love my work and want to support me? If you’re planning on buying camera gear, you can check out above-noted links. Prices remain the same for you, but a small percentage of your purchase value is valued back to me. Thank you!

02

Fuji’s X series lens lineup (including Zeiss’s three X mount lenses) is one of the primary reasons the system has been so well received by both professionals and informed enthusiasts. Even their first-generation line-up of primes performs very well, especially with all of the firmware updates. Like Patrick, I’ve been a decades-long, Leica M user (almost 30 years) and have a penchant for primes rather than zooms. Working professionally for 26 of those years, however, meant that I used my fair share of zooms as well. So while I have a sentimental attachment to the rangefinder film camera and prime lenses, when I’m working for pay, I won’t hesitate to use any tool (digital, zooms, post-processing software) to improve my efficiency and the quality of the images I’m providing to a client………

Fujifilm Fujinon XF10-24mm F4.0

Do you love my work and want to support me? If you’re planning on buying camera gear, you can check out above-noted links. Prices remain the same for you, but a small percentage of your purchase value is valued back to me. Thank you!

06

The 560 g Leica 75 Summilux was created in 1980, and features 7 elements in 5 groups. It was manufactured in Canada and later in Germany. Thanks to Dr. Walter Mandler (whose specialty was designing Double Gauss lenses), this lens has been pushed to the limits in non-aspherical Double Gauss design. This quality has allowed the 75 Summilux to stay in the Leica catalog all the way up till 2008. That’s a full 28 years before this lens was finally retired. And for those who don’t know, Dr. Mandler designed over 45 lenses for Leica. In fact, he helped Leica create the first ever 35 ƒ1.4 lens for any 35mm format. Dr. Mandler also designed the 50 Summilux, which was unsurpassed and remained in the Leica catalog for 40 years until new aspheric fabrication techniques allowed for improvement. Lastly, the design of the 75 Summilux derives from the classic Noctilux, which only adds to this lens’ legendary status……..

22

A fast short-tele portrait lens is a “must-have” for many photographers, especially for those in the wedding and portrait industry yet for a long time, it was missing in the Fuji X Series lineup. There are third party versions, and there’s also the sharp, compact XF 60mm F2.4 but nothing made by Fuji, below the F2.0 range. As of spring 2014, that changed with the release of the XF 56mm F1.2 R lens, an optic that many have been patiently waiting for. With the crop factor taken into account, the 56mm F1.2 is approximately an 84mm equivalent, which is a preferred focal length for many portrait and wedding photographers. Its fast aperture is also prized in this type of lens both for available light photography and for creating beautiful shallow depth of field or as some refer to as “bokeh”. So far, the details sound promising but does the XF 56mm F1.2 really cut it? Is it worth its asking price of $999.00? Was it worth the wait? Let’s find out……

Fujifilm Fujinon XF 56mm F1.2

Do you love my work and want to support me? If you’re planning on buying camera gear, you can check out above-noted links. Prices remain the same for you, but a small percentage of your purchase value is valued back to me. Thank you!

29

I finally had some free time this weekend, so I did some much needed spring cleaning of my hard drive. I accumulate photos fast, and I have a bad habit of telling myself that I will store my photos properly another day but then I don’t. Going through my hard drive is not something I was excited about but it was nice to look back at some of my old photos. Sometimes (especially in the digital world), I feel like all I’m doing is shooting, then processing, shooting, then processing. There are times when I don’t really get the chance to just sit back and look at what I shot, and going through my old photos was really nice because each one brought back a specific memory. And for me, part of why I love photography is that it helps me preserve memories, and experiences that I went through. Thoughts like the weather, what I was thinking at the moment, and what I was doing at the time have been flooding back into my head. I shot a lot with my Leica M9, and low and behold, I actually found a folder with some of my M9 shots, so I thought I’d post a few…..

08

I’ve been using the X Series line since the X100 days, and thinking back, it’s quite amazing how far Fuji has taken the system in such a short time. Not only are there myriad bodies to choose from, there are some seriously high quality optics to accompany the system along with various other third party lenses thanks to the abundance of adapters. The Fuji X-T1 is definitely a departure from the design of previous X Mount cameras in that it has taken the form of a mini retro DSLR over the rangefinder-styled form of past Fuji cameras, and I have to admit, the rangefinder guy in me kind of misses that design aspect. Nevertheless, I think it’s this uniqueness in the X Series lineup that helps maintain the magic that makes the X Series special. Let’s be honest, Fuji has been coming out with a lot of different models, and if you ask me, I don’t know if they necessarily need to update so fast all of the time. But the X-T1 is different than some of the other models that were simply designed to refresh an existing model. It not only looks different, it feels different, which to me, feels like it is something special. It’s the excitement and feeling I got when I first bought my X100, X-Pro1, and X-E1………

20

… I tested the Helios 44m in a lot of situations, and it still produces awesome or pleasant photos. I tried using the Fuji X-E1 with 44m combo for street shoots, still life, landscape and of course, portrait shoots, and the lens produces awesome results (Do check out my blog for more of the photos produced). Some might say it will not be as good as the new Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 and I believe so too. The Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 sounds and looks like a very sexy lens (very tempting) but that will not make the Helios 44m a bad lens. In fact if you compare the price of both lenses, the Helios 44m might be a beautiful lens you would be happily using yet having the funds to purchase other available lenses or support other stuff in your life. So, sometimes it is good to look backward and make a vintage alternative. Good day ahead……

06

Over the weekend, my friend Haru came over from Westchester to help me out. As some of you know, Bob at Bergen County Camera was nice enough to lend me a Leica 75 Summarit, and I wanted to test it out on a person. Luckily I have a very patient and understanding friend. So far, the lens is fantastic. Best of all, it’s not much bigger than a 50mm lens. I’m writing up a review on it using my M 240 but I will also be writing up my experience with it on my X-E2. The lens actually works superbly on Fuji, and since the lens isn’t that heavy, it still feels very balance on the X-E2. I had some time left over, and I thought I would take out my Zeiss Touit 12mm F2.8. I thought the 18mm equivalent of the Zeiss would offer a unique perspective, and more importantly, we had a blast with it. Plus, we were in very tight quarters, so a wide angle definitely came in handy. If you’re a frequent visitor to my blog, you probably already know that this is one of my favorite lenses for the Fuji X Series system. Other than it being big (especially with the hood), it’s a pretty handy lens, and excellent optically. When I bought it, I didn’t know I was going to use it so much but it turns out that this is one of my most used lenses. In fact, a lot of times, this is the only lens that I carry with me………

01

Ever since the X-E1′s released, it has been one of the most popular X Series cameras, and there are several significant reasons for this. It’s compact, it reminds us of simpler times in photography with its exceptional analog controls, it’s well built, and it produces stellar imagery. While it’s not a rangefinder, it does have many qualities of one, which many including myself, find extremely appealing. Best of all, the price is very reasonable. But like all cameras, the X-E1 is not perfect, and in order to fix some of these imperfections, the Fuji X-E2 was released……

Fuji X-Pro Curation

Aspects of Digital Photography focusing on the Fuji X-Pro1/X-Pro2, X-T1, X-E1/E2 and X100S/T - photographer, reviews, samples and more. The most comprehensive Collection on Fuji X-Pro1 articles, reviews and news on the Web! View also a collective of photographers from around the world shooting almost exclusively with the Fujifilm X-Pro1, X-T1, X-E1/E2 and the X100S/T.